Journal box lid



Dec. 5, 1933. Q BUK|U$ 1,938,315

JOURNAL BOX LID Filed Oct. 16, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 A. O. BUCKIUS JOURNAL BOX LID Dec. 5, 1933.

Filed Oct. 16, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 III/11111111111 8mm: fllez'i 0 45mi Dec. 5, 1933. Q c us 1,938,315

JOURNAL BOX LID Filed Oct. 16, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Dec. 5, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT FFlfiEQ JOURNAL BOX LID Application October 16, 1930. Serial No. 489,043

11 Claims.

This invention relates to the construction and mounting of lids provided at the outer ends of journal boxes for permitting access to the interior of the latter whenever an inspection is desired and for other purposes. An important consideration in the provision of a lid or closure for a journal box is to insure a tight seal so as to prevent the entry of dust, water and grit around the periphery of the lid and also prevent the leakage of oil from within the journal box. The present invention has particular reference to a construction of this sort in which suitable spring actuated mechanism is employed in a way that insures the proper functioning of. the lid to completely close the end of the housing.

A feature of the invention resides in the pro vision of a two-part lid construction, the parts being readily separable. One part is designed to serve as the closure element for the housing while the other part constitutes a spring unit for yieldingly urging the lid into either its closed or fully opened position. It will be understood that at times, when the waste around the journal is being replaced for example, it is desirable that the lid should be retained in an open position. The construction contemplated is of such a nature that the spring unit will. co-operate with a por tion of the housing to force the lid into either of its extreme positions when it has passed what may be termed a dead-center position. An advantage of the two-part construction of the lid is that it enables the application of the closing force against the lid at substantially its center, or at least at an approximately central point within the closure area of the lid so that a uniform action around the entire periphery of the opening of the housing is insured. Where a lid is formed as a single unitary structure, the spring force is normally applied adjacent the pivot of 40 the lid in such a way that 'a small opening or crack is almost invariably left at this point between the lid and housing so that dirt and grit are permitted to enter. Also, if the hinge pin is not parallel with the face of the box the lid will only seat on one edge or on a corner.

It has been a particular object of the present invention to so construct the sp *ing mechanism that it constitutes a single unit which may be readily separated from the main closure portion 50 of the lid. This brings about ease of handling of the spring mechanism in its application to and removal from the journal box and in its shipment from one point to another. Special pro isions are contemplated in this connection for holding the spring unit in a compressed condithe edges of the box defining the four sides of tion so that it may be applied to and removed from the journal box housing without the use of special tools. An important consideration of the invention has been toadapt its features to application to standard American Railway Association journal boxes.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the detailed description of an illustrative embodiment of the same, which will now be given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a sectional, elevational View taken through a journal box lid of the type contemplated, showing its relation to the opening in the journal boxhousing. 7

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the lid in opened position.

Figure 3 is a front, face view of the closure portion of the lid.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the closure portion of the lid taken along the line IV-IV of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a vertical, sectional view taken through the spring unit of the lid along the line V-V Of Figure 6. 0

Figure 6 is arear face view of the spring unit, and a Figure 7 is a horizontal, sectional view taken through the spring unit along the line VIIVII of Figure 5. 85

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a fragm ntary portion of a journal box housing 19 provided with the usual opening and having above the opening the usual standard American Railway Association hinge lug 11. This lug is provided with a hole 12 adapted to receive the pivot pin 13 which, as will later appear, serves to pivotally support the lid. The hinge lug is provided with a substantially vertical face l4 and a co-operating, nearly horizontal face 15, the two faces converging toward a nose 16.

The opening in the housing is adapted to be closed by a lid or closure 17 having a surface 18 of rectangular outline adapted to co-operate with the opening. A depression or indentation 19 is provided on the outer face of the closure member for the reception of the spring unit, which will hereinafter he referred to. A pair of extensions is provided integral with the upper edge of the closure and each extension is formed with a slightly elongated opening 21. This opening is adapted to co-operate with the pivot pin 13 and is elongated in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the face of the lid so as to permit a sliding movement transversely of the pivot pin and thus insure a perfect co-operation between the portion 18 of the closure and the edge of the journal box housing surrounding the opening.

The spring unit, which is adapted to co-operate with the closure member in such a way as to force it tightly against the opening in the journal box, is best shown in Figures 5, 6 and '7. This construction is such that a yielding force is applied to the closure member at substantially its midpoint so as to insure a proper closing action. The unit comprises a casing member 22 having cars 23 extending rearwardly therefrom. These ears are provided with hub-like projections 24 having in their outer walls openings 25 of just suflicient diameter to permit the insertion of the pivot pin 13. The spaces 26 within the hub-like extensions 24 are somewhat elongated, as best shown in Figures 5 and 7, in a direction transverse to the principal axis of the unit, but in the direction of this axis, i. e. substantially vertical, they are of just suificient dimension to permit the introduction of the pivot pin 13. By the construction shown, it will be apparent that after the pivot pin has been inserted and the casing 22 has been rocked or shifted toward the left in Figures 1, 5 and v"I, by means of the spring unit, in the manner to be explained, it will be impossible for the pivot pin to work out of the device. A shoulder 27, formed by the remaining portion of the outer wall of the extension 24 will prevent the axial movement of the pivot pin. In the assembly of the casing 22 upon the journal box housing, its ears or extensions 23 will be on the outer side of the extensions 20 of the closure member and will snugly enclose these extensions.

At substantially the midpoint, intermediate the length of the casing 22, a rearward extension 28 is provided. The under surface of this extension is adapted to serve as a retainer for the upper end of a spring 29 which, at its lower end, co-operates with a follower 30 integral with or otherwise secured to a yoke 31. The two arms of this yoke are connected at their upper ends by means of a rod 32 adapted to co-operate with a hook portion 33 of a rockable spring lever 34. The latter is pivotally supported by the casing 22 by means of a pair of studs or hub-like extensions carried by the frame and adapted to co-operate with pockets formed by hooked projections 36 on the interior of the casing 22. At its upper end the frame is provided with a rounded surface 37 adapted to co-operate with the hinge lug 11. It will be apparent that the action of the spring 29, which is normally under compression, will be to rock the lever 34 about its pivot 35 and force the rounded surface or nose 37 against the surface 14 of the hinge lug. This will produce a reaction by the lug at the point of the contact, the direction of which may be designated by the arrow X Figure 1. By virtue of the connections between the frame 34 and the casing 22, these two members will, under most conditions, behave as a unitary structure. Therefore the force X acting against the frame 34 will in effect be transmitted at that point to the casing 22 and will cause the latter to be rocked about the pivot pin 13. For this purpose the force X will have an effective lever arm equivalent to the distance designated A in Figure 1. Booking of the casing 22 in this way will cause its xtension 28 to engage the bottom of the depression 19 of the closure member and will force the latter tightly against the edges of the opening in the journal box housing.

At its lower end the casing 22 is provided with an extension forming a shoulder 38 adapted to co-operate with a hook or shoulder 39 on the lid. A slight clearance is normally provided between these shoulders. Now, when it is desired to lift the lid to inspect the journal, an extension 40 of the lid is grasped and lifted. This will cause the two sections of the lid, including the closure element 1'7 and the spring unit 22, to rock in unison about the pivot pin 13 and will produce sliding of the rounded surface 37 of the lever 34 upwardly along the surface 14 of the hinge lug. This, in turn, will cause the lever 34 to be rocked slightly about its pivot 35 and will place a somewhat greater compression on the spring 29. As the surface 37 is shifted around the nose 15 of the lug 11, the direction of the force X will vary, the effective lever arm A being reduced until the force is finally directly radial from the axis of the pivot pin. At this time, the force will have no leverage and the lid may be said to be on dead center. As the lid is elevated beyond this point, the lever of the force will shift to the opposite side of the center so that the force will then tend to urge the lid into the full open position, shown in Figure 2. At this time the shoulder 39 of the closure member will rest upon the shoulder 38 of the casing 22. When it is desired to close the lid, it is grasped in the same way and moved downwardly toward th center position, after which the spring 29 will be effective to snap the lid into closed position.

In order to provide for greater ease of assembly of the spring unit upon the pivot pin 13, means are provided for normally holding the lever 34 in rocked position against the compression of the spring 29. If some means were not provided for this purpose it will be apparent that whenever the unit would be detached from the journal box, the lever 34 would be rocked by the spring until its hook 33 would rest upon the extension 28. In applying the unit to the journal box, it would then be necessary to rock the lever 34 in order to bring the openings 25 in the side extensions into alignment with the hole 12 through the hinge lug so that the pivot pin could be inserted. Various means might be provided for retaining the lever 34 in rocked position. Two such means are shown in the drawings. The first of'these comprises a set-screw or bolt 41, illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 1. This screw may be passed through a threaded opening in a portion of the casing 22 and may be turned until its inner end engages and holds the lever 34 in the desired position. properly assembled, the screw 41 may be either removed or turned back until a suficient clearance is provided between its end and the lower edge of the lever 34.

Another means which may be employed for the same purpose is to provide an opening 42 in the front of the casing 22 through which a rod 43 may be inserted between the hooked portion 33 of the spring lever and the upper surface of the extension 28. The unit may be shipped and handled separately with this rod in position and the rod may be retained until after the unit has been applied to the journal box housing. Prior to removal of the unit from the box for some purpose the rod may be again inserted in the position shown in Figure 5. By the above means the lid may readily be applied to and removed from the journal box without the use of special tools. An ordinary Wrench can be used to tighten or loosen the bolt 41 and the rod 43 can be driven in place After the unit has been closure or lid, as shown in Figure 1. ance, furthermore, is provided without extending by any heavy implement. The rod can ordinarily be pulled out by hand.

An important advantage of the construction disclosed herein is that it enables a desirable amount of pivotal action of the spring 29 about the extension 28. This is due to the fact that the lower end of the spring is supported by the yoke 31 which may be swung to a limited extent about the axis of the rod 32. As a result of this construction the placing of the spring in a cramped or warped position, as is common in prior constructions, will be obviated. If any irregularity, for example, should be present in the under surface of the extension 28 so that the resultant force of the spring is not strictly at right angles to this surface, the axis of the spring will simply be shifted slightly and undue compression of the spring on one side will be prevented.

Another feature of the construction disclosed which will now be apparent is that it provides for a desirable amount of clearance between the end of the journal and the inner surface of the This clearthe lid construction unduly beyond the opening of the journal box housing. This is made possible by virtue of the fact that the force of the spring 29 is made to act downwardly and exert a pull, rather than a push, on the arm of the lever 34 and by the fact that the construction permits placing the spring so that its axis is parallel to, and even substantially in, the plane of the closing face 18 of the lid. By placing the f spring parallel to the face of the closure rather than at an angle thereto the use of a longer spring providing a greater closing force is permitted.

While an admirable embodiment of the invention has been set forth in considerable detail in the foregoing sections, it will be understood that the constructions disclosed are merely illustrative and that various modifications in the construction and arrangement of the parts may be effected without departing from the general spirit and scope of the invention. The terms employed herein are to be considered as descriptive of the illustrated embodiment and are not intended to impose any limitations on the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a device of the class described a journal box having a hinge lug with an outwardly facing cam surface, a closure for said box, a bell-crank lever having one arm in forcible engagement with the cam surface of said hinge lug in the closed .position of said closure, and a spring acting on the other arm of said bell-crank to rock the same, said spring having its axis substantially in the plane of the closing face of said closure and inwardly of the fulcrum of said lever.

2. In a device of the class described a journal box having a hinge lug, a closure for said box, a bell-crank lever having one arm in forcible engagement with said hinge lug, and compression means comprising a compression spring arranged to exert a pull on the other arm of said bell-crank to rock said first mentioned arm into engagement with said lug and force the closure against the box.

3. In a device of the class described a journal box housing, a lid therefor, and a spring unit for urging said closure against said journal box housing, said unit comprising a spring housing, a projection on said housing, a spring having one end in engagement with said projection, and a yoke member engaged with the opposite end of said spring, said yoke and one end of the spring being free to pivot slightly about said projection.

4. In a device of the class described, a journal box housing, a lid therefor, a separate spring unit for said lid, a bell-crank lever mounted on said spring unit, a spring abutment on said spring unit adjacent one arm of said lever and a spring reacting against said abutment and said arm and located on the side of said abutment removed from said arm.

5. In a device of the class described, a journal box having a hinge lug with an outwardly facing cam surface, a closure for said box and a spring unit cooperating with said closure, said unit comprisng a two-armed lever and a spring located substantially in the plane of the mouth of said box and parallel with the plane of said mouth, said spring reacting against one arm of said lever inwardly of its fulcrum and causing the other arm thereof to press against the outwardly facing cam surface of said hinge lug in the closed position of the closure.

6. In a device of the class described a journal box, a closure for said box, means for pivotally attaching said closure to said box and independently mounted means including a bell crank lever and a coiled compression spring mounted for pivotal movement on said lever for applying a yielding force at substantially the center of said closure to hold it against said box.

'7. In a journal box lid, a closure member, a separate spring unit for said closure member adapted to apply a force thereto intermediate its ends, said unit including a casing member, yielding means and a two armed member, means for attaching said unit to said journal box, a portion of said casing member lying adjacent a portion of one of the arms of said lever, said portions being arranged for the insertion of means there between in a direction longitudinally of said arm to disable said unit to enable ready application and removal of said lid, and one of said members having an opening therein adjacent said portions to permit insertion of such means.

8. In a device of the class described a journal box having a hinge lug, a closure for said box, a spring assembly associated with said closure and adapted to apply a force thereto intermediate its ends, said assembly including relatively movable parts forced together under spring pressure and normally interfering with the application and removal of said closure and assembly with relation to the box, said parts being so constructed and arranged as .to. provide an accessible passage adapted to receive wedging means for forcing said parts apart and counteracting said spring pressure to provide easy application and removal of the assembly and closure.

9. In a device of the class described a journal box having a hinge lug, a lid for said box comprising a closure member, a casing detachably interengaged with said closure, a spring lever within said casing, means to pivot the lever intermediate its ends, one end of said lever being actuated by said spring to press said lever into contact with a portion of said lid when said lid is disengaged from said journal box, said lever and the contacting portion of said lid being so constructed and arranged as to present converging surfaces enabling the introduction of means therebetween to force said parts out of contact and thereby move the other end of said lever to a position enabling the ready application of said lid to said journal box.

10. In a device of the class described a journal box, a closure for saidbox', means for pivotally attaching said closure to said box, a unit including a coiled compression spring and being arranged to yieldingly force said closure against said box, cooperating shoulders on said unit and said closure, said unit being separable from said closure by simple disengagement of said shoulders, certain of the parts of said unit being constructed and arranged to receive wedge means therebetween in all assembled positions thereof to render the unit ineffective during removal of the closure and unit from the journal box.

11. In a device of the class described a journal box, a closure therefor, a casing pivotally connected with said box, yielding means comprising 

